


Born Into War, Born Into Loss

by readwriteandavengers



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: A Week After, Amara and Jake are now siblings, Amara knows Jake has a crush, Jake is told he's loved and cared for, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 11:25:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14259930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readwriteandavengers/pseuds/readwriteandavengers
Summary: A week after saving the world, Jake and Amara cool down in a quiet room and have a talk. And a nap. A certain ranger may find the two a few hours later.





	Born Into War, Born Into Loss

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry that this may seem rushed. This is my first fic for the two, but usually I get in the swing of things rather quickly. I hope to write more for Jake/Nate soon. Thanks for reading!

A week has passed since they prevented the end of the world. There are mourning families and endless cleanup; more bodies are found through the rubble, people are trying to rebuild their lives after losing their homes, and the cadets are still reeling after losing one of their own.

 

Cadet Suresh.

 

The funeral already happened. The service gained worldwide attention, branding him as a hero. Which was what he was. Cadet Suresh was mourned by his family; blood and military.

 

Jake’s walking down the hall, his jacket slung over one arm. His mind is racing through endless thoughts. He misses Mako, he wishes she could see what he’s become, how he accepted some responsibility. He misses his father too. There’s the inkling in the back of his mind that he’s utterly alone, his sister and his father are gone. But, deep down, Jake knows that’s not true.

 

He stops outside Amara’s door, a small smile tilting up as he knocks on the door.

 

“Come in,” comes Amara’s soft response.

 

Jake listens, allowing the door to slide open before him. He spots Amara sitting off to the side, legs stretched out in front of her and her eyes purposefully pointed onto her feet. She’s dressed in her uniform, just as Jake, and she’s also discarded her jacket. The damned things are stuffy.

 

“Hey,” Jake greets carefully, his voice nearly lost over the sound of the door shutting behind him.

 

“Hey,” Amara shoots back, never lifting her eyes off her boots. A moment of silence passes so Amara clicks the tips of her boots together.

 

“Look, I’m not good at this emotional stuff either,” Jake starts, echoing her words from earlier. He takes a seat beside her, throwing his jacket off to the side. “I’m sorry about Suresh.”

 

“Yeah,” Amara nods solemnly. “Me too.”

 

Jake doesn’t say anything. He only nods as he settles back, allowing his shoulder to press against hers. He can be there for her, even if he might not say the right thing.

 

Another minute of silence passes before Amara continues.

 

“We joked about his funeral, you know. Before he died. We said how he’d maybe get half a Jaeger there if he was lucky.” Amara sounds bitter, as if each word dries out her tongue.

 

“Hey,” Jake says softly, turning to look at her. “That’s harmless talk. Each cadet speaks like that. You have to, otherwise the idea of death becomes… too much.”

 

“I thought we were going to die,” Amara says. “And I was okay with it because I knew we would be saving the world. But I-” Amara pauses, her voice cracking. “I hope Suresh thought the same.”

 

Jake bumps his shoulder against hers and this time Amara lifts her watery gaze to Jake’s. He smiles at her, finding it hard to believe how someone so young could go through so much. “He wouldn’t have climbed in that Jaeger if he didn’t think that.”

 

Amara searches Jake’s eyes, maybe for a sign that Jake doesn’t fully believe that. But she doesn’t find any doubt, so she must finally accept his words because she fully relaxes, slouching against him.

 

Jake appreciates the contact and leans against her too. His head falls on top of hers, and for a moment Jake can pretend that everything’s okay. His dad and Mako are just in the other room, planning their next attack while he and Amara will sneak into the kitchen for ice cream.

 

“Look at us,” Amara laughs dryly. “The two orphans bonding.”

 

Jake snorts out a laugh too, rolling his eyes. “You know you’re a giant pain in my ass, right?”

 

Amara can’t help the proud smile that slides onto her face. “I know,” she sighs.

 

“Besides,” Jake continues. “We may be orphans but we’re hardly alone. We’ve got each other, and you’ve got all your fellow cadets. Even Viktoriya seems to have warmed up to you.”

 

Amara tilts her head back to look at Jake but the amusement is clear in her gaze. “We’ll see if that lasts now that the world isn’t in peril.”

 

Jake shakes his head at Amara’s constant snark, but he’s grinning. He’s content to fall back into silence now that he’s let her know she isn’t alone, but then she’s speaking again.

 

“You have more than just me, you know,” Amara states clearly, causing Jake to frown and peer down at her, but her eyes are closed.

 

“What are you talking about?” Jake presses, reaching out to poke her arm playfully.

 

“You’ve got Nate. Duh.” Amara keeps her eyes closed. She even has the decency to yawn before she snuggles into Jake’s shoulder further.

 

He’s glad she’s not looking at him considering his cheeks heat up. He wouldn’t have been able to brush off the comment as easily as he should be able to. “I guess.”

 

“You guys have quite a history, huh?” Amara asks next, yawning once again. Jake doesn’t blame her. He’s exhausted too and finds himself catching the contagious yawn.

 

“You could say that,” Jake allows himself to relax and can feel the heaviness in his eyelids. He turns his eyes up, staring at a spot on the ceiling. His blinking slows down until he lets his eyes fall shut.

 

“You’re into him,” Amara’s teasing tone is evident but her words are starting to slur into one.

 

“Remind me to kick your ass later.” Jake demands, but he’s collapsing into sleep as well. He hears Amara snore, signifying she’s the first to sleep, and then the world crawls away as he follows after her.

 

-

 

 _“Aw,”_ a voice says distantly, _“this is truly adorable.”_

 

 _“You know Namani will kick your ass for saying that,”_ someone retorts.

 

 _“Alright, someone take a picture before they wake up. We’ll need this for blackmail material.”_ That voice is undeniably Nate’s, which is enough to cause Jake to become alert.

 

There’s a small chuckle around the room, and Jake hears a click before he finally convinces his eyes to open.

 

He’s greeted with a room full of cadets, trying to hide their smiles when Jake, their commanding officer, stares at them confusedly. He’s still trying to get a grasp onto what’s going on so he peers down to find Amara still resting on his shoulder, but waking if the crease between her brows is any indication.

 

Jake turns back to the cadets, his mouth opening to give an order, but someone’s already doing so.

 

“Alright, cadets. Back to your quarters.” Nate instructs, never missing a beat to be authoritative. But Jake’s known him long enough to hear the hint of amusement in Nate’s tone.

 

As instructed, the cadets turn from the room, walking out and heading back to their rooms for the night. Their voices are low, careful not to bother anyone they may pass on the way.

 

Amara’s finally sitting upright, stretching her arms above her head and arching her back.

 

“That means you too, Cadet Namani.” Nate has his hands on his hips but his smile softens the demand.

 

Amara stands up, glimpsing over to Jake on her way out. They share a small nod, and there’s a hint of a smile on Amara’s face as she exits the room.

 

Jake stands up as well, arching his back as he stretches and lets out another yawn. He blinks a few times, watching as Nate patiently waits.

 

“Alright, mate, thanks for waking us up.” Jake gives a short nod before he slides past Nate. He’s nearly towards the exit when Nate’s voice stops him.

 

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Nate presses, but his tone is so cryptic that Jake has no clue as to what Nate could be talking about.

 

Jake turns his brown eyes on Nate, hesitant as he looks left and then right. “Don’t tell me you want a goodnight kiss, Lambert.”

 

“If you’re going to call me Lambert, better make it Ranger Lambert.” Nate tilts his head forward, his brow quirked and a smirk on his face. He then nods over his shoulder where Jake’s jacket sits. “Your jacket,” he voices, as if it wasn’t clear enough.

 

“Oh,” Jake blinks but finally his feet move and he heads in the direction of his coat. He scoops it up off the bench, flashing Nate a smile before heading back towards the door.

 

Jake can hear Nate’s footsteps behind him but for some reason Jake’s nerves are screaming at him to get back to his room. Maybe it’s Amara’s comments, bringing feelings to light that Jake would have rather kept in a very dark hole.

 

“Are you capable of not being a smartass?” Nate teases, and Jake feels guilty because he knows Nate’s trying for light conversation. They probably both need it after the week they’ve had, but Jake can’t put up the facade for right now.

 

They’re already outside of Jake’s door and Jake can’t help the relieved sigh that leaves him. He turns, flashing Nate a smirk, already pushing his door open. “Yes. But only if it’ll benefit me.”

 

Jake then pushes inside, hoping the door closes before there can be any further comments, but the universe never did sway in his favor. Nate’s arm reaches between the door and the wall, successfully stopping Jake’s escape.

 

“Jake, before you go to bed… before this day changes and we’ve missed our window to talk about this…” Nate’s head is tilted down as he steps into the doorway. Jake’s mind starts to focus on how large Nate’s gotten since Jake had left, the bulge of Nate’s biceps, or the way his pectorals are very present under that white t-shirt.

 

Then the words are starting to ring in Jake’s ears and along with the beat of his heart. Talk about what? There’s no way that this could be a declaration of feelings. That didn’t happen in real life.

 

“Look,” Nate sighs, finally lifting his eyes to meet Jake’s. “I’m here to talk, okay?” Nate has to turn his gaze away, and Jake doesn’t blame him since he’s staring at Nate like a wide-eyed fool. “You’re…” there’s a pause and Jake wonders where Nate’s going with this until he finally continues, this time with his eyes meeting Jake’s again. “You’re not alone. You’ve got me.”

 

That’s a promise that Jake wishes Nate wouldn’t make. He’s learned enough that people come and go, whether it’s their choice or not. The idea of Nate one day being gone too… Jake swallows, forcing the thought from his mind.

 

Jake finds himself nodding numbly, staring resolutely at the ground. He doesn’t say anything. He can’t.

 

Nate’s the one nodding this time, taking a small step back out of Jake’s room. “I just need you to know that.” He says, fully in the hall. This time he locks his hands behind his back, like the good soldier he is. “Goodnight, Jake.”

 

Jake manages to respond, even if he doesn’t lift his eyes from the floor. “Goodnight, Nate,” is said barely above a whisper.

 

He can see Nate tilt his head down, nodding respectfully before he departs. Jake moves over to the door, pressing his palm flat against the handpad and allowing it to slide shut.

 

He seems to work numbly after that; taking off his uniform until he’s down to his boxers, sliding under the covers, and dimming the lights. Despite the empty room and the range of emotions flooding through Jake, he knows one thing.

 

He’s not alone.


End file.
